Gubernatorial candidates say money available

Herald StaffTuesday, October 15, 2013

Credit: Chitose Suzuki

MAKING FRIENDS: Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker waves during the Columbus Day Parade in Revere yesterday.

Gubernatorial candidates say they aren’t worried about Boston’s attention-grabbing mayoral race vacuuming up all the political donations, saying that there is plenty of cash to go around, and a lot of it will be coming from outside the city and outside the state.

“Fundraising hasn’t been an issue so far, even in a dual-election season,” Republican candidate Charlie Baker said at yesterday’s Columbus Day Parade in Revere.

Baker, who trails Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democratic candidate, in several recent polls, said he has been focusing his campaign’s fundraising outside of Boston, hitting Revere yesterday and several Metrowest towns in the weeks to come.

“We’ve been happy with our fundraising efforts so far,” Baker said. “I’m confident we will have the funding we need to win this election.”

Coakley, too, has seen a recent boost in fundraising from donors outside of the Hub. Just last month, she received financial backing from EMILY’s List, a powerhouse national fundraising group that helps elect women who support abortion rights.

Meanwhile, Democratic state Treasurer Steve Grossman is leading in fundraising among gubernatorial candidates, yet only 12 percent of his campaign donations have come from Boston.